Want To Go Old School And Build Your Own Camera?

These days everyone is snapping photos with their cell phones. For some
folks they get out a digital camera to do a bit of shooting. The die-
hards still use film. You can take a trip into the past with Viddy, the
pinhole camera. Not only does it require you to go old school with 35
mm film, you even have to build it yourself out of cardboard from a DIY kit.

The Viddy, Pop-Up Pinhole Camera (Image via Kickstarter)

The Viddy is by the Pop-Up Pinhole Company of England. The company was founded by London-based designer Kelly Angood in 2010. She designed the company's first cardboard camera while she was a student at University. That first camera was based on the iconic Hasselblad camera and was named the Videre. It takes an hour to make and produces some nice photos.

The Viddy, Pop-Up Pinhole Camera (Image via Kickstarter)

The Viddy is the baby brother of the Videre. It is smaller, less complicated, and easier to put together. The company took what money was available and put together 80 prototypes to give out to people to try out. Now that the new design has proved feasible, the company is seeking funding on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign has proved as successful as the feasibility of the prototypes. With more than two weeks to go on the campaign, the company has already received pledges for more than twice the initial amount they were seeking.

The Viddy, Pop-Up Pinhole Camera (Image via Kickstarter)

These cardboard camera kits are flat packs so they are easy to ship. The cameras come in a choice of red, blue, green, or black. It takes just about 30 minutes to put the camera together (the Videre takes an hour). The result is a camera that strongly resembles the box cameras from the early days of personal photography. It is a fun and educational project for you or for children. Stickers are included so that you can personalize your box.

The Viddy, Pop-Up Pinhole Camera (Image via Kickstarter)

While you may not win any awards with the photos you take, you can certainly try your hand at film photography and have a lot of fun in the process. The photographic results posted on the company's website are pretty impressive, but I didn't see a single selfie there. That may mean that you really need to try taking photos of other things.

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